Price-fixing, Part . . . oh, I forget

Health insurance rates too high in California?  No problem, we'll respond just as we did to unruly prices on other necessities.  Remember the fabulous success of California's artificial "market" for energy prices?  Me, too:  most of my work starting in 2001 arose out of the nationwide wave of electrical power generator bankruptcies that began with Pacific Gas & Electric, a business failure caused 100% by barking-mad state power utility regulators who thought they could repeal the law of supply and demand with a regulatory wand.  Regulators never dreamed that micromanaging PG&E's business would lead to brownouts.  It worked for the Soviet Union, right?

The more critical a product is, the worse idea it is to jack with its market.  Price caps mean crashed supply and stymied innovation, last time, this time, and every time.

4 comments:

DL Sly said...

It was because of those jackwagons that we had to live in base housing when we were stationed to MCAS Yuma. There was no way in the world we could have afforded $400+ electric bills on top of the rest of the utilities. We later found out that as soon as we left, a crew in hazmat gear went into our house and stripped out the flooring -- that the VES had been crawling on for the last three years -- which was unsealed and contained asbestos.
Lovely, huh?
And we had to pay to clean that place before we could move. Even though they knew they were going to destroy it as soon as we left.
Can you say "Kickback"?
I knew you could.
0>;~}

E Hines said...

Well, you know. It's the law of the land. Rules, too. And bureaucracy. And....

The problem, though, with all those program-crushing rules, including the pantheon of them that will (maybe) crush Obamacare, is that long after the programs have been ground to grease smears under the flooring (including Obamacare) we'll still have the pantheon of rules.

Eric Hines

raven said...

It is doubtful the rules will remain. After the Great Flush the former usa will look like every third world hell hole on it's worst day.

douglas said...

Somehow, I'm not surprised. Health insurance here in CA has been ridiculous for years- you couldn't get a simple, affordable policy because of all the regulatory requirements placed on insurers. Sound familiar? I'll vote against this, but I'll laugh if it wins and helps bring down Obamacare.

Enjoy the collapse of Cali- it's just the preview.